Question
Hi,
I have been growing carnivorous plants for quite some time now. I am
growing several species of Nepenthes including Deroose Alata, x Miranda,
Ampullaria, Bicalcarata, x Lady Pauline, Distillatoria among others. I have
spoken with a local distributor who says they fertilize their Nepenthes very
regularly to make them produce many pitchers. I was wondering if fertilizing
will actually cause the plants to pitcher more. Mine are currently growing in a
greenhouse with lowland and intermediate conditions. They get a good
amount of bright sunlight and humidity. I have read about a new kelp
fertilizer used my many CP growers called MaxSea 16-16-16 and was
wondering if you know anything about this as well. Can you recommend a
fertilizer, dilution and tell me if it is going to help the plant to pitcher more
abundantly? Also would you recommend foliar feeding, directly through the
pitcher or through the soil in pots that are regularly flushed with fresh water.
Thank you and may I say I thoroughly enjoy your youtube videos!
Good Growing and Thank you for the help.
Charles

Answer
Hi Charles,

Fertilizing your plant does help your plant produce more pitchers provided that its also getting lots of sunlight and the soil is always moist to the touch.  Humidity is helpful with some species, like your lowlands, but not significantly important with the Deroose alata and Miranda.  If lighting and soil moisture are not adequate, no amount of humidity or fertilizer will help your Nepenthes.

How abundant will the pitchers be?  It depends on the species.  Some plants grow incredibly fast, such as Deroose Alata.  Others grow a bit slower, such as Lady Pauline.  

There are many different opinions about fertilizer, and the current trend is using MaxSea at full strength (1 teaspoon per gallon).  Some growers mist their plants with it or add it directly to the pitchers.  Others have used it directly in the soil.  One well known Nepenthes grower adds it directly to the soil every two weeks.  However, he also lives in an area where it rains frequently and his plants grow exclusively outdoors.  His soil mix is also equal parts lava rock and coconut husk, so it doesn't retain a lot of nutrients.  The fertilizer is constantly flushed out.  If you add it to the soil, you'll need to top water your Nepenthes regularly to avoid build up.

With that said, I've yet to use MaxSea on our Nepenthes.  I have a bottle of it, but just haven't gotten to using it.  But based on my friend's plants, I'm feel confident enough to say that you can apply it directly to the soil on a monthly basis.  We're currently testing with adding coffee to the soil, and so far, no harmful effects.  When used as directed, a solution of MaxSea will be less dilute than a cup of coffee.

One thing to watch for is leaf production with no pitchers.  This is very common if you fertilize too frequently or if the fertilizer is building up in the soil.  You see, fertilizer actually encourages leaf production, but if the levels are too high, the plant doesn't need to produce pitchers to capture insects.  It's already getting nutrients in the soil!  So there's a fine line with the amount you use.  If you use it, definitely top water your plants frequently to flush out the excess.

And thank you for watching our videos!  We plan to release volume 3 of our DVD later this year.  This volume will cover Nepenthes.

Good growing!
Jacob Farin